Photos: Founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung’s 101st Birthday

Kim Il-Sung, born April 15, 1912, founded the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in 1932 and led a long struggle against the Japanese. He proclaimed the Republic in 1948 and became the effective head of state of North Korea, establishing a unique personality cult and a Stalinist political-economic system. Kim Il-Sung ruled North Korea from the nation's founding in 1948 until his death in 1994 and named his son Kim Jong-Il as his successor. After his death, Kim Il-Sung was named "eternal president" of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.